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Colorado men's basketball: Fortune hopes to add spark from behind arc

Transfer won't play for Buffs until 2015 season

One of the biggest holes in the Colorado basketball team last year was the lack of a consistent perimeter threat.

When Josh Fortune, a 6-foot-5 guard announced he was transferring to CU from Providence this week, coach Tad Boyle took a big step in shoring up his perimeter offense.

Too bad Fortune will have to sit out next season because of NCAA transfer rules. Maybe a team returning almost its entire cast from an NCAA Tournament season can make some improvement shooting from the perimeter with an entire summer and most of fall to work on it before the season arrives. The Buffs made just 32 percent of their 3-point attempts last year.

Fortune can't actually play in a game until the 2015-16 season at CU but he plans to try to help the team improve in any way he can during practices.

"It's definitely not going to be easy," Fortune said of having to sit out a year from competition. "I just plan to grow. This is my first time being a spectator in college basketball. I'm going to take it as a challenge and learn some things and get better."

Boyle has mentioned several times in the past year his desire to add a knockdown shooter to his arsenal. While Fortune's shooting percentage last season, 35 percent from behind the arc, falls short of that classification, he definitely enhances the options at Boyle's disposal in the future.

Boyle can't confirm Fortune is joining the program until he is enrolled in classes. Fortune isn't sure when that will happen or when he will arrive in Boulder, but he is planning to be at CU for the fall semester beginning in mid-August.

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Fortune started 35 games for Providence last season and averaged 8.4 points and 3.0 rebounds. But his perimeter shooting and ability to play both guard positions is likely what attracted Boyle and his assistants. He was second in assists for the Friars with 72 and was named the most improved player on the team at the team's banquet in April.

Fortune made 56 of his 160 3-pointers, a 35-percent shooting average. Askia Booker and Xavier Johnson tied for team lead at CU last season with 37 made 3-pointers each. Booker shot just 27 percent behind the arc while Johnson and Xavier Talton shot slightly better than Fortune at 36 and 37 percent respectively.

"I know I can be a threat from outside the arc and keep the defense honest," Fortune said. "I can definitely bring that to that table."

Adding Fortune to the team leaves Boyle with one scholarship to offer for the 2015 class. Boyle is likely to add another guard with that scholarship considering Booker is entering his senior season and Talton and Eli Stalzer will be seniors when the recruit joins the program for the 2015-16 season.

Fortune is from Hampton, Virginia, and hadn't spent much time in the western half of the United States prior to visiting Boulder this spring. His mother is a colonel in the army who has served two tours of duty overseas in Afghanistan and Kuwait. Fortune said his mother has taught him not to let distance or unfamiliarity get in the way of pursuing his dreams.

"I wasn't really too worried about the distance," Fortune said. "I was just searching for what I was looking for. It didn't really matter where it was. Coaching-wise, they made me feel like being in Boulder could be my second home."